Blaze
The Jeeper Reaper
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2005
- Location
- Wake Forest, NC
I do this professionally, so your results may vary, but I'll give a general idea of how to spray your vehicle with Al's.
First, rip everything out you don't want coated. This is an obvious step.
Next, tape off EVERYTHING. I normally use 3M 233 auto body tape, but any painters tape will work. I like the 233 because it sticks better and I don't have to worry about it lifting mid-spray. Also use plastic (2-3 mils over everything) to make sure you don't get any overspray.
With an open vehicle like a K5 or Jeep with the top off, you need to really cover everything, the overspray will go all over the windshield and places you don't want it to since you are throwing it from the back towards the front with the gun when you build up the thickness. You can get the overspray on the paint off with a claybar, but why make more work for yourself?
Once you're ready there, start scuffing. We normally use a cup brush for the easy areas and a 36 grit sandpaper for the tough areas. We also use a needle scaler for the REALLY tough areas, but you can take your time with the 36-grit and it'll work just fine. Make sure you scuff up everything you plan on spraying or else you can have lifting problems.
Once you are done there, blow or vacuum out the area to be sprayed to get rid of all the dust you can.
After that, take a clean rag with some acetone, denatured alcohol, or some other neutral cleaner and wipe it all down. Wait for it to dry before moving on. We prefer denatured alcohol because it dries almost immediately.
After that, spray the primer included with the Al's Liner kit. Cover everything and use all the primer. This is a urethane adhesion promoter, so be sure you get it everywhere you want to spray.
Next hook up your gun, make sure it is all working and ready to spray. After that, mix up your Al's.
EDIT 4/21/09: For the initial heavy coat that you will spray up close, we recommend only mixing half the material you need. This will give you more time to spray without having to worry about the material setting up. Mix half, spray until it is done, then mix the other half and spray until it is done. The mix ratio for a half gallon is 35oz of part A, 14oz of part B, 14oz of part C, and 2oz (1/4 cup) of tint.
We recommend only pouring half the material into the hopper at a time. This makes it more managable and will not wear out your arm as easily.
Get a feel for the gun in an inconspicuous area. We recommend starting with the first spray under the seat area. Easy back on the trigger till you get a feel for the flow you like. Do NOT go full-throttle on the trigger or you WILL get too much material. It's easy to do, just get a feel and let it flow. Just like painting a car.
We recommend getting the tough areas first. Run through the front floorboards, around the rollcage, under the body lips, etc. The hopper on the gun will rotate, so if you need to go at an angle where the material might drip out, just rotate the hopper. If you spill it, just wipe it up. No biggie. Spray at about a 6-12" distance from what you are spraying.
After you get the tight areas, move through the easy areas at a close distance until everything is covered. This will give you the good foundation to build the thickness over.
After this, spray at a longer distance and kind of mist the Al's over the areas to be covered. Stand right beside the truck and be sure to aim where you want it. Think of it like you are spraying a water hose and want to get everything wet using continuous side-to-side motions. Left to right, drop a few inches, right to left, drop a few inches, left to right, etc. Do the driver's side this way, then move to the back of the vehicle and repeat, then move to the passenger side and repeat, etc. If you have the top on or can't spray for directly on the side, just stand to the left of the rear opening and spray, then the middle, then the right, etc. Use the front doors to do some of the side coats. DON'T FORGET THE TAILGATE!
After you've sprayed all your Al's immediately remove your tape and plastic. If you have areas you can't get to to remove the tape/plastic, wait till it is dry to the touch and carefully trim them out with a sharp razorblade.
I recommend waiting at least 24 hours before reinstalling anything. You'll get much better results this way.
If you get any Al's on the paint or anything else, denatured alcohol will remove it. Just do it quickly before it dries or you are SOL!
So that's about it! Do all of this and you'll end up with something that looks like this Jeep's coating (this is Scorpion we sprayed on blazeproc's Jeep, not Al's!):
First, rip everything out you don't want coated. This is an obvious step.
Next, tape off EVERYTHING. I normally use 3M 233 auto body tape, but any painters tape will work. I like the 233 because it sticks better and I don't have to worry about it lifting mid-spray. Also use plastic (2-3 mils over everything) to make sure you don't get any overspray.
With an open vehicle like a K5 or Jeep with the top off, you need to really cover everything, the overspray will go all over the windshield and places you don't want it to since you are throwing it from the back towards the front with the gun when you build up the thickness. You can get the overspray on the paint off with a claybar, but why make more work for yourself?
Once you're ready there, start scuffing. We normally use a cup brush for the easy areas and a 36 grit sandpaper for the tough areas. We also use a needle scaler for the REALLY tough areas, but you can take your time with the 36-grit and it'll work just fine. Make sure you scuff up everything you plan on spraying or else you can have lifting problems.
Once you are done there, blow or vacuum out the area to be sprayed to get rid of all the dust you can.
After that, take a clean rag with some acetone, denatured alcohol, or some other neutral cleaner and wipe it all down. Wait for it to dry before moving on. We prefer denatured alcohol because it dries almost immediately.
After that, spray the primer included with the Al's Liner kit. Cover everything and use all the primer. This is a urethane adhesion promoter, so be sure you get it everywhere you want to spray.
Next hook up your gun, make sure it is all working and ready to spray. After that, mix up your Al's.
EDIT 4/21/09: For the initial heavy coat that you will spray up close, we recommend only mixing half the material you need. This will give you more time to spray without having to worry about the material setting up. Mix half, spray until it is done, then mix the other half and spray until it is done. The mix ratio for a half gallon is 35oz of part A, 14oz of part B, 14oz of part C, and 2oz (1/4 cup) of tint.
We recommend only pouring half the material into the hopper at a time. This makes it more managable and will not wear out your arm as easily.
Get a feel for the gun in an inconspicuous area. We recommend starting with the first spray under the seat area. Easy back on the trigger till you get a feel for the flow you like. Do NOT go full-throttle on the trigger or you WILL get too much material. It's easy to do, just get a feel and let it flow. Just like painting a car.
We recommend getting the tough areas first. Run through the front floorboards, around the rollcage, under the body lips, etc. The hopper on the gun will rotate, so if you need to go at an angle where the material might drip out, just rotate the hopper. If you spill it, just wipe it up. No biggie. Spray at about a 6-12" distance from what you are spraying.
After you get the tight areas, move through the easy areas at a close distance until everything is covered. This will give you the good foundation to build the thickness over.
After this, spray at a longer distance and kind of mist the Al's over the areas to be covered. Stand right beside the truck and be sure to aim where you want it. Think of it like you are spraying a water hose and want to get everything wet using continuous side-to-side motions. Left to right, drop a few inches, right to left, drop a few inches, left to right, etc. Do the driver's side this way, then move to the back of the vehicle and repeat, then move to the passenger side and repeat, etc. If you have the top on or can't spray for directly on the side, just stand to the left of the rear opening and spray, then the middle, then the right, etc. Use the front doors to do some of the side coats. DON'T FORGET THE TAILGATE!
After you've sprayed all your Al's immediately remove your tape and plastic. If you have areas you can't get to to remove the tape/plastic, wait till it is dry to the touch and carefully trim them out with a sharp razorblade.
I recommend waiting at least 24 hours before reinstalling anything. You'll get much better results this way.
If you get any Al's on the paint or anything else, denatured alcohol will remove it. Just do it quickly before it dries or you are SOL!
So that's about it! Do all of this and you'll end up with something that looks like this Jeep's coating (this is Scorpion we sprayed on blazeproc's Jeep, not Al's!):
